Quantifying Conversational Reliability of Large Language Models under Multi-Turn Interaction

Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly deployed in real-world applications where users engage in extended, mixed-topic conversations that depend on prior context. Yet, their reliability under realistic multi-turn interactions remains poorly understood. We conduct a systematic evaluation of conversational reliability through three representative tasks that reflect practical interaction challenges: (1) maintaining global constraints across topic shifts, (2) selecting the correct tool or agent amid interleaved intents, and (3) tracking structured entities under revisions and distractions. Each task pairs single-turn and multi-turn settings, allowing us to quantify reliability degradation under extended dialogue. Across both commercial and open-source models, we observe substantial declines in reliability, particularly for smaller models. Error analyses reveal recurring failure modes such as instruction drift, intent confusion, and contextual overwriting, which compromise dependable behavior in operational systems. Our findings highlight the need for stress-testing LLMs for conversational reliability and developing more robust evaluation methods for trustworthy deployment.

Paper

References (11)

05Include AT LEAST 1˜2 changes across date/time/people during the conversation
06The question should naturally tempts the assistant to give a long, detailed answer (e.g ., asking for a full story summary, explanation of a complex topic, or step-by-step process)
07Generate exactly ONE user message in JSON format (no assistant replies)
08Table 3: Tool Selection accuracy by dialogue length. Turns Accuracy
09multiple mention
10the SAME user message, after the instruction, ask a natural question about the topic: "{topic}
11The final user turn MUST NOT restate all details together in one clean sentence; the final reservation must be inferred by integrating information scattered across turns

Similar papers

© 2026 NYSGPT2525 LLC